八字没一撇 (bā zì méi yì piē)

 八字没一撇

(bā zì méi yì piē)
English Translation:“Character eight without a word.”

Meaning:
The literal translation is “There is not even the first stroke of the character 8 (八).” If no stroke has been written, then nothing has happened. This is similar to “things have not even begun to take shape” or “there is no sign of success yet.”

Example:
这个项目还没有开始，八字没一撇。
(This project hasn’t even started—“there is not even the first stroke of the character 8.”)

Source: Hello Mandarin